Day Two, Parking Lot Red Necks, Illinois, Iowa

I woke up on Tuesday, Oct. 24^th feeling quite rested at 5 am but it was so toasty in bed I didn’t want to move. I lie still for another hour half dozing on and off listening to Bill sleep. We both slept pretty good again, me well and Bill so-so. We were tired and only read until 9 or 9:30 in bed before turning lights off. We got up and made our coffee and tea discussing the day’s travels.

Waking up in a parking lot

 We read some blog comments and a couple of blog posts from our friends but are really trying to limit our data usage. I got lucky last night and was able to cash in on Finley’s free wi-fi, the restaurant next door. It was strong enough to download pics into my blog but not quite enough to publish so I fired up my hotspot. This is simply a new learning experience regarding our data stuff.

We dressed for the day and walked into Walmart. Love shopping at these times! Well, except for the ‘non-cashier’ thing. There were just a handful of people at 7 am but everything was Scan Checkouts only. We had a small basket full of stuff, mainly things for quick breakfasts and lunch. Bananas, bars, yogourt and of course, Clemson’s Cesar entrees. Luckily, the border crossing gal didn’t have a dog but we still only brought 2 with us this time.

Yesterday, he was up and down each slow down
Today, he never budged from this or a similar position

We were on the road pulling out of Walmart at 8 am and it was a cooler 9C/47F today. We are always comfy in the truck no matter what outside is like but we like to be warm for our pit stops too. Me especially, I’m not as ‘hardy’ as Bill is in that department. My Dad used to say ‘not enough meat on those bones’.

Thought this would be a good place for $8 a night

I-94W started out rough coming out of Jackson but soon enough it smoothed out nicely. Seems it would be rough, smooth, rough etc. for the ride today, no sooner did I say that and it changed. It was rainy too this, morning, light and the wind had calmed down considerably.

Bill checking out campsites

If it had been summer, this would be a good spot
but too wet and muddy for us

I’m just starting to notice diesel prices as we pass by stations. Yesterday we paid $2.95/gal. which is a nice change from home. Works out to approximately .75/l and in Durham it was $1.05.9. Today, the prices are varying between $2.88/gal to $3.03. There is always a .03 or .04 difference when paying by credit card, which we do for fuel.

Pretty place though
This bridge was a 4 ton max
Ha! We were only about 10 tons over

Around 9:30 we started looking for a pit stop, speaking of fuel. We usually start checking when Black Beauty tells us we have 100 miles to Empty so we don’t find ourselves in a bind. So, after searching on our Good Sam gps I found that we were 14 miles from a Pilot which is a good place for our size of vehicle. We pulled in and fueled up and had a nature break and got a coffee refill as well. Back on the road by 10:30.

By 11 we entered Indiana and gained an hour, clocks changed on our gps’s and phones. So that means we crossed into Illinois at 10:45, 3 states in 2 hours! We’re good! The rain has increased making for a very messy drive for Bill. Not heavy rain but steady making the road ahead appear very misty with wheel spray. We took Exit 160 in IL took us onto Hwy 6 away from the toll road.

We got a kick out of the pink elevators on this new construction

Back to my old vices - water towers

Some are just so pretty!

We weren’t sure where it would take us but both Bill’s truck gps and my Good Sam gps were in agreement. That is always good! We zigged left on Park Ave then right on 167^th St and another left onto Kedzie before catching the I-80W. After 14 miles we veered left again on I-80W/Iowa. Now we were home free for 98 miles to our next destination in Sheffield, IA.

We drove through some crappy stuff today

We arrived at Hennepin Canal State Park and drove around looking for a site. Nope, not going to stay here even though it would only be $8 or nothing, if the park ranger didn’t come around. With the rain, it made the sites look a little ‘iffy’. We don’t need that headache. So, we did some searching on line for parks in the area and found one at Geneseo. It looked promising.

Our excitement for the day
Two shops on site filled with 'junk'

1941 Harley Davidson

It was 2:30 when we set out on the road again to I-80W. At Exit 19 we turned off onto I-82 and fueled up at another BP. Great price @ $2.59/gal. We drove through Geneseo and it brought back memories of our car trip out west in 2011. We stayed our first night in this town at a hotel. Geneseo Campground was about 2 miles out of town and we pulled in with fingers crossed. We were ready to stop for the night.

Beware: picture overload in the shops

Read below for the story on this

the flip side says he pulled it out of the dirt, cleaned it up and set it here

Old Coke machine $3,000

Not for Sale

Camel ride - price below

Bill checked us in, yay! And we found our spot at Site #59. It was 4:00, thank you for that extra hour Indiana! We are home for the night! Once we got things opened up and the heater turned on, Bill fed Clemson his supper. We were on a mission and hopped in the truck to drive to Le Claire, Iowa. This is where one of the stores for Antique Archaelogy is located. These are the people who have the reality show American Pickers. Mike Wolf, Frank Fritz and Danielle.

Before we left, we posed

We knew it was highly doubtful that we would actually meet the ‘stars’ and that was the case. Danny was in the Phillipinne’s providing assistance and Mike and Frank were in Minnesota picking. At the same time, it was a hoot to walk into their two shops. Lots of things we remember watching Mike and Frank haggle over during a program and of course those special items that are marked NFS. No offer would be accepted for those.

If you've ever seen the show, you'll recognize this old car

We took pictures, bought a couple of small souvenirs and chatted with Kayla before we looked for a place for dinner. We passed a Pizza Hut so pulled into their parking lot backing on to the Mississippi River. What a gorgeous view! Unfortunately, they did not offer ‘sit in’ dining so we walked down the sidewalk to Bierstuber a bar and grill.

Broccoli and cheddar soup

And when I thought it couldn't get any better
Reuben Egg Rolls arrived

This was an excellent choice and Hayley, our waitress, helped us choose from the interesting menu. Lots of sausage and bratwurst and many other sausage brands I couldn’t begin to mention. I chose the Reuben Egg Rolls stuffed with shredded corn beef, sauerkraut and provolone cheese grilled in the egg roll. Cottage cheese and a cup of one of the best broccoli cheese soups I’ve ever had.

Bill's Lemon Shrimp and fries

Bill opted for the Lemon Shrimp with fries and a salad and they looked yummy too. Of course, half of my rolls came home with me and that means another great meal coming up. We paid up and came back home to our campsite. It felt later and yet was only 6:15. I went out immediately and snapped photos of these puffballs at the corner of their lot. OMG! Never seen such big ones before!

Biggest puff ball ever
Her dog wanted to play with it

I picked one this size

Our site in the dark

I picked one of the smaller ones and it still measures a full handsbreadth across. I’ll clean it up and fry it so Bill can taste it another day. Another couple from Missouri were doing the same thing and she helped me by holding her hand down to the largest one. I can’t believe no one has snafued these up before. We sat and wrote our blog posts as the temperature continued to drop. It was probably down to 4 or 5C by now. Oh, excuse me 40F.

We couldn't have timed this better if we tried
The sun setting on the Mississippi

And the sun appears to end our day

 This has been another long travel day and we need to plan tomorrow’s route before bed. We’ve had to jiggle the jello some today so maybe tomorrow’s will be the same. No worries though, we’ll always find a place to stay. I hope you’ve had a great day!

You know how happy I am to get a beautiful sunset tonight!

Thank you for reading. I love reading your comments.